


the stars are not in position for this tribute

by rinthegreat



Series: Road to Eldorado AU [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Road to Eldorado, Humor, Klance Week day 2: sacrifice, M/M, yeah you read that tag right
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-11-01 15:29:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10924707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinthegreat/pseuds/rinthegreat
Summary: Klance Week 2017 Day 2: Sacrificeit's exactly what you think it is





	the stars are not in position for this tribute

**Author's Note:**

> shoutout to [thislittlekumquat](http://thislittlekumquat.tumblr.com/) for betaing again! what a champ <3
> 
> i had too much fun with this

Peace.  Happiness.  Lance hanging over him and ignoring all the pretty girls as they walked by.  Keith could stay like this forever.

A gentle jingle reached his ears.

He opened his eyes, wondering what could possibly be tearing him from his pleasant dreams – hoping it was Lance ready for another round – and was greeted by the terrifying face of Priest Lotor.

“Aah!”  The shout came out in surround sound.  Lance must’ve been up as well.

“Good morning my lords,” the priest smirked before disappearing almost immediately.  Clearly he was a morning person – another strike on Keith’s mental _Reasons Why Lotor is Evil_ list.

“He’s back,” Lance whispered next to him.  He was cradling his pillow against his face.  Keith wanted to smack it away and replace it with his own body, but since he wasn’t in control of his own body, he ended up hitting himself in the face instead.

“Oh no.”  He didn’t have the energy for this. 

Lance was already shoving the pillow away and struggling to kneel.  If anyone hated mornings more than Keith did, it was Lance.  He sat up, regretting every ounce of alcohol from the night before, but the voice of the Devil Himself boomed out. 

“ **The gods have awakened**!”

Keith fell over with a “whoa” as what sounded like the _entire goddamn country_ cheered in response.  He hated whatever the fuck they’d drank last night.  He hated it and he wanted to know the magical hangover cure everyone else was using _right the fuck now_.

Lance was still struggling.  Keith, not one to back down from a challenge – even a mental one he made up just now – stood up and gave his best _Everything’s Totally Fine_ impression.  He was completely under control.  A-Okay.

He could almost feel Lance’s glare at his back.

A second later, Lance was standing next to him, grinning sheepishly.  Keith hated how endearing he was.  If they hadn’t had an audience, he would’ve leaned over right then and there and –

Allura passed in front of them humming. 

He should probably figure out what was going on here.  “Hey, Allura,” he whispered as she sprinkled rose petals in front of him.  “What’s going on?”

Lance, meanwhile, was already hamming it up for the crowd.

Allura spared him a glance over her shoulder, complete with a grimace.  “It’s not gonna be good,” she whispered back.

Of course not.  “Thank you.”

“ **This city has been granted a great blessing!** ”  Lotor declared dramatically, still focused on the crowd.  “And what have we done to show our gratitude?  A meager,” the priest looked back at Chief Hunk, “celebration.”  He went back to the dramatics, gesturing at both Lance and Keith.  “ **The gods deserve a proper tribute!** ”  Several locals passed in front of him, holding up a bag between them, wrapped with a pretty blue ribbon.

That…didn’t sound so bad.  He and Lance exchanged a glance, agreeing without a word that they’d hear the creepy priest out.  Gold, riches, jewels.  That’s what was going to be in the bag, and that was going to be what he and Lance conned from this place.  They would go back to Spain, buy Spain, and imprison Zarkon forever just because he was an ass who threatened to send them to Cuba.

Lotor was still talking.

“ **The beginning of a new era!  The dawning of a new age** ” – Was he…flexing?  Oh.  No.  He was using magic.  Even better.  This would be magical gold and they could buy up the entirety of Europe and form it in their image – “ **demands _sacrifice_.** ”

The crowd gasped, Chief Hunk gasped, and Keith squinted, not sure if what he was seeing was real.

Lotor’s hand moved above what was now very clearly a man, controlling him like a puppet.  All the good feelings about buying Spain disappeared.

“I don’t like this,” he growled.

Lance’s hand grabbed his shoulder.  “We’ve got to do something.”

Lotor pushed the man towards the edge of the pillar with his stick, and the man just _went_.  As if he’d given up on life.  Or was being controlled by magic.  He teetered on the edge, looking ready to fall at any moment.  They had to do something.  This was a con, they weren’t gods, and Keith couldn’t live with himself if they’d caused another human life to be lost.  Lotor raised his stick and –

“ **Stop!** ”

He and Lance stepped forward, perfectly in sync without needing to plan.  To his surprise, Lotor _did_ stop.  Keith almost breathed a sigh of relief.  They had some sway here; they would actually be listened to.

“This is not a proper tribute,” he chastised the priest while Lance rushed forward and caught the man before he could fall.

Lotor looked stunned.  “You do not want the tribute?”

“No, nono we want tribute,” Lance said hastily.  “It’s just that um…“  He hadn’t thought through the plan, Keith could tell.  “Keith, tell him.”

Great. 

Keith cleared his throat and pulled the first bullshit thought out of his ass.  “The stars are not in position for this tribute.”

Lance, dragging the man as if he were deadweight, piped up.  “Like he said.  Stars.  Can’t do it.”  Keith nodded.  “Not today.”  Dammit, Lance come on.  Not today, not any day.  No sacrifices.

But he can’t argue about this with Lance.  At least, not right now.  So instead, Keith levels his gaze at Lotor, determined that the priest cave to their wishes.  What was the point in being gods if they couldn’t get their spokesman on board with what they wanted?

Lotor, creepy and powerful and terrifying though he was, was clearly serious in his worship.  He breathed heavily, looking terrified.  Hell, he probably thought they’d demand he sacrifice himself for making such a huge error. 

And man, was Keith tempted to ask that.

“Well perhaps it is possible that I have misread the heavens.  Please, forgive me.”  He pressed his hands together and bowed his head, looking as if he were ready to drop to his knees in front of them and beg for forgiveness.

Lance handled it this time.  He rested his hand on Lotor’s shoulder – they really should just make him sacrifice himself at this point – and comforted him.  “Don’t worry about it.  To err is human.  To forgive –“ Keith smacked him before he could finish that.

“My lords, may the people of Eldorado offer our tribute?”  The chieftain spoke up.

They both turned to where Chief Hunk was pointing and saw…gold.  Piles of gold.  And jewels.  Mountains of it.  Images of Lance lying naked in piles of gold danced across Keith’s vision and oh yes…oh this tribute would do very nicely.  Certainly would make up for being woken up and terrified at ass-crack thirty.

Keith had a stupid grin on his face, he just knew it.

“My lords, does this please you?”  And if Keith were a real god, he would grant Chief Hunk any wish he’d ever want for the rest of his life.  Which would never end, because he would totally make him immortal.

Lance recovered first.  “Yes, very nice.  Um...certainly acceptable.”

“It’ll do,” Keith managed to sound bored despite the very real stiffy he was sporting under his pants.

“The gods have chosen!”  Chief Hunk announced to the crowd.  “To Altea?”  He asked, looking to Lance and Keith for confirmation.          

Whatever Altea was, Keith wanted to see Lance naked with it.  So yes.  Lance looked at him questioningly.  He nodded.  Absolutely.  “To Altea!”  They both shouted, missing Allura’s head shaking.

And to Keith’s utter horror, the plates filled with gold and jewels went flying over their heads into the swirling water that would’ve taken the man they saved.  What…why?  He hadn’t…He and Lance had barely even…but…this wasn’t _fair_.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Allura stalk up to them.  “Hey Allura,” Lance asked, “what are they doing?”

She crossed her arms, clearly irritated with the two of them.  “They’re sending it to Altea.  The _spirit world_ ,” she emphasized, as if they should’ve already known that.

“Spirit world…”  Keith bemoaned.  Now he’d never see what Lance could look like in a bed of gold.  This was the worst.

“I’ll take care of it.”

He didn’t know what she was going to do, but he didn’t care.  His dreams, his gold, their future was sinking to the bottom of the river…or spirit world.  Whatever.

“ **Stop!** ”  Chief Hunk’s shout boomed out behind them.  Everything froze except one lone gold plate.  Keith stopped it with his foot.  He could at least have this.  And then the unthinkable happened.  “ **They wish to bask!  Take the tribute to the gods’ temple.** ”

He and Lance turned around to see a very smug Allura sashay her way over to them.  And yeah, Keith was 100% gay and very much a one-man kind of guy.  But at that moment?  He could’ve kissed her.

So he leaned across Lance.  “Nice going,” he complimented before resting his hand on Lance’s back.  The three of them walked back into the temple together, completely ignoring the priest still standing there.


End file.
